2018-04-14 - Scottsdale, AZ - Other

Object sighted, triangular shaped with curved magenta bottom. Lights moved sequentially from left to right bluish-white with magenta .

Scottsdale, AZ 85260 - Near Shea Boulevard and 101 Loop (Highway). Approximately 8:30 pm Saturday, April 14th, 2018.

At approximately 8:30 pm Saturday, April 14th, 2018 I arrived at my home, parked my car and stepped to the backyard. I am in a neighborhood that is dark, does not have streetlights and the properties are all close to 1 acre plus in size, the night is clear, still has some suspended dust particles in the lower atmosphere/sky that can affect the color like a filter. I unplugged the lights that illuminate a Paolo Verde tree in my backyard. I looked to the South West and saw the “Belt of Orion” the significantly identifiable constellation that I recall my children always pointing out to me. I was alone and enjoying the dark sky and the stars straight up and to the north.

After seeing the “North Star” as directed by the “Big Dipper’s” outer ladle stars I turned back to view towards the South East and saw a magenta colored object with sequential lights, like a 1970 Ford Thunderbird with its right turn signal on, observed rolling from my left to right moving at a steady swift speed in a Southern and lower trajectory; maybe below 10,000 to 15,000 feet.

The object seemed to stay on the same altitude in my field of vision. The lights were red and then bright white and the background of the lights lit up in magenta (magenta, somewhere midway between blue and red); it was very pretty and very different. The lights where arranged in similarity to a shallow bowl, curving upwards and at an apex point above there was a point that was not lit but visible with some opaque connection from the curved lit zone upward to that apex point.

The sequential movement of the light created a visual image that made the object seem to be spinning, however it was very quick and this was unlike anything I have seen in the sky before.

I witnessed the sighting for about 5 to 10 seconds, then ran into my house and gathered my binoculars which were very close to the screen door to view. I was excited to view the same outline however, the sequential movement of the lights changed to an “all on” or all illuminated pattern but, the apex point (at the top of the curved bowl shape) and the outline of a structure was more evident.

I quickly went back into my house to grab my camera that can zoom and potentially capture an image. At first because the screen is very small and aligning the camera in the night with a moving object in the sky I didn’t think I captured the image.

However, I do have something on the camera. It is very small and only visible for about less than 1.5 seconds. The camera shows a more blue in color but, I do not have a good way to review the video yet. On the counter between 6 and 8 seconds, the small spot in the field of view on the top half of the screen shows, what I believe is the moving object described above. It is very quick and very poor, the larger light was unfortunately one of my solar powered lawn lights. I am willing to share the video, the sighting in the video is on the higher side of the field of view than the garden light I ended up targeting instead for the remainder of the shoot.